Just What's Left
by Oblivous Otter
Summary: Ever since the arrival of Fred and George Weasley, Hogwarts hasn’t been quite the same. Pam Alexander should know. She values a sense of humor and a knack for witty adventures in her friends. But in her guys? She values flaming red hair. AU near the end.
1. Squaking and FastTalking

Summary: Ever since the arrival of Fred and George Weasley, Hogwarts hasn't been quite the same. Pam Alexander should know. She values a sense of humor and a knack for witty adventures in her friends. But in her guys? She values flaming red hair. AU near the end.(For those who haven't read DH, all I can say is: Fred!)

**Chapter 1: Squawking and Fast-talking**

Having a witch mother and a Muggle father, my family grew up in a pretty mixed way. Some nights the Tales of Beetle and Bard put my brothers, sister and I to sleep. On others, stories of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella were the last things we heard before a good night's rest. Personally, I loved the Muggle stories. Stunning princes and beautiful princesses living happily ever after? Those made me smile.

I always dreamed the Princesses lived in fascinating stone castles surrounded by forest, with the smell of flowers in the air and pine needles littering the ground. So naturally, the week after my family had moved from London to Ottery when I was eight, I was desperate to explore.

I stared out my new bedroom's window at the cloudless blue sky. The leaves of great elm and willow trees rustled in the light summer breeze. Our new home was smaller than the old one, despite now having an attic. It was made of brick, but on the inside creamy-colored wallpaper and light hardwood floors contributed to the warm feeling of this house.

My new room was mostly rosy pinks and peach colors. I didn't mind, it had an antique feel and the sheets were soft. It was the smallest bedroom, but the amazing view from the window definitely made it the best room in the house. There was a small cushioned bench below it, now covered in teddy bears and other stuffed animals, except for one small spot, which was bare. That was where I sat now, watching the birds flutter in and out of the trees.

And I longed to be outside, running around. Who in their right mind would want to be inside on such a pretty August day? _Speaking of which_, I thought, _there must be some other kids in this place._

Quickly, I stood up. I was so excited I knocked down five or six of the stuffed animals, but I was already jogging down the warm hallway. Skidding to a stop in front of my parent's room's door, I put on a grin (which was not hard, considering my excitement) and opened the oak-wood door.

"Mum, can I go for a walk?" I looked at her imploringly.

"Only if Meredith goes with you. I don't want my Pammy to get hurt out there." My mother smiled tenderly, but I stomped my foot in indignation.

"But I'm eight years old already! I can't have Merri holding me on a leash forever, can I?"

"Pam, eight years old doesn't seem like young to you, but Albus Dumbledore is nearing 150 years old. And as well," My mother added warningly, because I'd opened my mouth to protest, "Meredith has a wand and knows how to use it."

This shut me up at once. She had a good point- I didn't even have a wand yet, and if I did I wouldn't know what to do with it. "Fine," I grumbled. "See you in a little while, Mum, love ya."

Upon reaching my older sister's room, I found she wasn't there as usual. Her room had shades of pale green and gold, with a thick scent of pine mixed with her kiwi shampoo. Nearly everything was in order and clean. However, her copy of _A Standard Book of Spells, Grade One _lay open on her bed.

Curiosity overcame me and I pulled the book onto carpet floor with me, flicking absentmindedly through the pages. I understood hardly anything, except for a levitation spell.

"Not the best read I've ever had." I muttered to myself, laying the textbook back onto her bed.

"Really now? I found it quite interesting."

My older sister stood in the doorframe, the bright sunlight from the window in my bedroom backlighting her dramatically. Her blue eyes were narrowed, but she was grinning. "Mum told me you fancied a walk."

Eager to get out of there, I nodded. "Yeah. But she won't let me go unless you have your wand."

"Tough luck. I can't do magic outside school. Guess that's another secret Mum's keeping from you. C'mon." She turned and lazily waved her hand, beckoning me downstairs.

I followed, pulling on my sandals.

Once we were outside and walking along the path that leads into the grove of trees, I tried to level out my voice. "Uh, Merri? Whaddya mean _another_ secret?"

"Oh, Mum hasn't told you?" Meredith sounded both peaceful and concerned.

"No…" I wonder what they could tell Meredith and _not_ me.

"Does Elias or Peyton know?" I wouldn't admit it, but having my brothers know and not I was pretty scary.

"Nah, Peyton's too young and I don't think Elias knows. But the _seeecret_ is…." She tapped her lips with her forefinger, as if contemplating weather to tell me or not.

"Merri, just say it already, _please_!"

"Alright, alright! There's another family with kids our age in it. I've seen them once. Just follow me…"

And Meredith started though the middle of the trees; cutting along a path so precise I wouldn't have been surprised to see a line on the ground. Brambles snapped back and pricked my bare shins. The unleveled ground made me stumble all over the place, hitting my head on trees. Meredith didn't seem to have these problems- every protruding root she avoided easily. Once we arrived at some bushes just before a clearing, Meredith turned around for the first time. "Jeez, Pam, you look pretty banged up." She raised her blonde eyebrows, genuinely surprised.

I just smacked my palm to my forehead.

Focusing my attention back to the clearing, I now noticed that a tall, crooked house loomed in the distance. Giggles and yells were emerging from the yard behind it.

"Hey, crouch!" Meredith alerted me back to our current spying situation. I dropped to my knees and crawled toward the bush.

Gently, I pulled some of the leaves apart to make a hole. From this view box, I could see seven – _seven_ – kids playing in the yard. One was trying to govern the younger four, while the two tallest ones were telling off the youngest boy. There was only one girl, and she was much younger than me. Every single one had vibrant orange hair.

Meredith looked much less surprised than I did. In a hush, she explained to me:

"Yeah, the tallest one is Bill. The littlest boy is Ron, and the girl is Ginny. The twins, I dunno their names, but they're always messing around with the younger ones and sometimes even the older ones!"

As I took this in, I felt something tickle my leg. Cold chills ran through my body as I looked down apprehensively. A fat, fuzzy green caterpillar was inching up my leg. And this was no garden variety bug – it was a good eleven inches.

I screeched as loudly as my lungs would let me. Jumping to my feet, I held out my left leg and kicked it around. Meredith was up and trying to calm me down, but I mean, it's some chubby hairy thing _crawling_ _on my body_. Panicking full force as I realized all eyes were on me, I tried to turn on one leg and toppled over the bush, landing on my face with a soft thud.

And as quickly as the mortifying silence had come, it left in an eruption of "What just happened?" "Is she okay?" "What were they doing back there?"

"I'm okay," I said, standing up and brushing myself off. Although, it was more to calm myself than the people in front of me.

"Uh, awkward meeting, huh?" The oldest said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You seem the energetic type." Bill said to me, grinning.

"Sorry, my sister is afraid of bugs. We'll just be going now…" Meredith still looked pretty mad at me. Grabbing my arm and holding it tighter than was probably necessary, she pulled me away from them.

"Wait! Is that one of those really big caterpillars?" I turned around to see one of the twins running toward me, followed closely by the other. "We got Bill to buy us one while he was at Hog-"

"Wait a second!" The bossy one commanded. "How do we know they're not Muggles?"

"Oh! I go to Hogwarts, and my mother is a witch." Meredith loosened her grip on my arm.

This shut him up. "As I was _saying_, we got those caterpillars at Zonko's. They're not real. Pretty funny prank huh?" The twin closest to me ginned triumphantly. "You wanna see the rest of the stuff we got?"

"Uh, sure." I smiled; it's a relief to have someone to play with who isn't Meredith.

They led me over to their back porch. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Meredith step nervously into the yard.

"Well, here it is." The other twin spoke up. "Our entire arsenal of pranking magic."

It _was_ an arsenal – quite a number of dangerous-looking instruments, bubbling potions and lollipops.

"Impressive." I nodded. Suddenly realizing how hungry I was, I went for a lollipop-

"You don't want to eat those." The twin on my left said.

"Blood-pops, they are." The one on the right whispered.

I withdrew my hand quickly. "Wait, what are Blood pops?"

"Lollipops that taste like…blood." Right Twin grinned at my apparent stupidity.

"Oh…that's it?" I reached for one again.

"But they also make your ears spurt red water." Left Twin said quickly, making me drop the unwrapped 'pop onto the wooden porch with a clatter.

"Uh, what are your names again?" I wanted my story for Peyton to be as accurate as possible.

"You never told us _your_ name, either." Right Twin smirked. "Or your friend's for that matter." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Meredith, who was now talking avidly to Bill.

"She's my _sister_, for your information, and she's Meredith and I'm Pam." I said crossly.

True, me and Meredith didn't look much alike. She had thick blonde hair and dark blue eyes, while my eyes and hair were both a mousy brown.

"Oh. Well this is Fred," said Right Twin, gesturing to the redhead on my left.

"And my lovely brother is George." Finished Fred, grinning slyly. "So, Pam, it's short for Pamela, right?"

"Um…no, just…Pam." I shrugged.

"Right-o. So, I've never seen you or Meredith here before." George broke the awkward silence that had followed.

"Yeah, we just moved into that house over there." I pointed over the hills to the right.

"So that's why Mum's been baking all day." Fred gestured towards the back door. "Shoved us all out here and said, '_Go ride on your brooms, or play, Mummy's got work to do_.'"

"Wow, we get cake? What kind?" My eyes widened with glee – any mention of sweets and I go nuts.

"Most likely chocolate," Fred mused.

"Or possibly pumpkin pie." George thought aloud.

"Oh, I hope it's vanilla crème." I clasped my hands together and stared dreamily at the sky.

Before we could speculate any further, footsteps came towards the door we were sitting in front of.

"Pam, you and Meredith have gotta go." Fred leapt to his feet, followed closely by George. Same time, same place tomorrow, right?"

The footsteps got even closer.

"Yeah, sure- MEREDITH!" I yelled her name across the yard; she jumped in shock.

Running as fast as my short legs could carry me, I hurdled into my sister. "We have to go, we have to-"

But before I could finish my sentence, the door opened with a groan. "I have a…"

Everyone froze. Meredith's mouth hung open slightly.

A plump woman had emerged from the back door. She had a sweet voice and the same red hair that carried through their family. Her face was now a mixture of shock and bewilderment.

"Well," She continued in the same voice, now stepping fully onto the porch. "I see you have all met the new children next door?"

"Hi, Miss!" Meredith smiled.

"Hello. Please, come inside!" She ushered me and Meredith in and closed the door behind us. Even though she seemed happy to see us, I heard her round on the kids.

"They could have been Muggles! Your father would have _lost his job_! Not to mention, you've never met them before, they could have been anybody!"

I stared in a full circle, taking in the room. My hand dawdled for a moment on a huge hat. I pulled it on and silently showed it to Meredith. She rolled her eyes, but smirked.

The yelling outside continued.

Despite the situation, I started giggling uncontrollably. I clapped a hand over my mouth, trying to suppress the noise- the yelling had stopped, and the woman probably was glaring in each of the kids in turn, obviously infuriated.

"_What_ are you laughing at?" Meredith elbowed me, knocking me into a hat stand, which toppled over both of us, walloping Meredith square on the head. I laughed even harder, and felt like my lungs were going to burst.

"What in your right mind would make you-" The yelling had resumed.

Too much for such a small kid to take, I folded and let out a loud snort. All of the talk died out, and no matter what I did, my laughter rang out to the yard beyond.

"Ah, the sound of a child's laughter." I recognized George's voice over Meredith's clamoring to get to me and my incessant giggling and snorting.

"Is there anything more precious?" Fred added, beginning to laugh as well.

Meredith reached me and shoved a piece of parchment into my open mouth. I sputtered and gagged; having paper plunged down your throat _hurts_! Once it was safely out of my face, I realized how quiet it was.

More footsteps. With Meredith's help, I put the rack back up and clamored to put back on the two hats that had fallen.

We ran into the small kitchen and sat quietly on two of the chairs. The rest of the large family shuffled in.

"Hello dears, I'm Molly Weasley. This is Ginny," She pointed towards the girl, who smiled shyly. "My youngest son is Ronald," The boy looked up and half-waved, returning to his conversation with one of the others. "Fred and George," she indicated the twins, who winked. "Percy," The one with the horn-rimmed glasses nodded, "Charlie," The second tallest grinned warmly us- Meredith giggled into her hand. (I kicked her under the table.)

"And my eldest is Bill." He looked up and said "Hey."

"Oh, and my husband should be home soon." Her smile widened slightly.

"So there are your introductions, girls. Anything I can get for you two, just let me know." Mrs. Weasley bustled over to the stove.

I stood up the second I had the chance and darted back over to the twins.

"Pam, just the person we needed to talk to." George pulled me over towards the staircase.

"You're not scared of getting into a little mischief, are you?" Fred asked.

"No way. I live for fun." I put on my most sly grin.

"Perfect. We want you to help us with a little _prank_." George looked playfully evil, and so did his twin. "C'mon, we need to plan this."

We set off up two flights of the narrow, slightly crooked stairs to a small room.

"This is headquarters." Fred waved his hand around the room. "Now take a seat and grab some Chocolate Frogs, because we've got a lot of work to do."

A/N: Hopefully the second chapter will be up soon. Let me know what you think so far. (And don't worry; the whole 8-year-old thing won't go on forever. They'll be 11 by chapter three. XD )


	2. Things That Go Bump in the Noon

"Fred and I have come up with a dandy little number that involves Percy's broomstick and a nice Quidditch game." George stood up and pulled a drawer in the desk and pulled out an old-looking book bound in black leather. The cover read _The Care and Keeping of Your Racing Broom_.

"How's that gonna help?" I asked. "Wait, lemme guess. You're- _we're_ – going to twiddle with his broom?"

Fred let out a snort.

"What?" I thought my guess was pretty on the mark.

"Oh, sorry. You're right and everything, but come on,_ twiddle_? Who says that?" Fred snickered. "All _twiddling_ aside. We're going to shift around the back twigs so that it goes in the opposite directions. Problem is, we need to make sure it goes up just fine."

"Really? All you gotta do is make sure the top twigs are straight." I was pretty sure I knew what I was talking about.

"Now that that's taken care of, we need you to go get his broom." George pointed out the window. "Down there, in the shed."

"What? Why me? What if-" I sputtered.

"You'll be fine. The only reason me and Fred can't go down there ourselves is because it'll be obvious we're up to something."

"All right, fine." I said. "Which broom?'

"First Cleansweep when you open the door. On the left," Fred nodded.

"By the way, you're still wearing our hat." George pointed at my head.

I pulled off the ridiculous red-and-yellow cap. "Why was it just lying around?"

"Well, that was something else Bill had gotten us from Zonko's. It has a charm that makes you laugh hysterically until you pull it off. Or eat something." Fred grinned. "Amazing little thing, isn't it?"

"It's not half-bad." I pushed it onto the desk. "Okay, Percy's broom. I'll be right back." My guilt was already catching up to me as I walked out of the room. _But then again_, I thought_, it's all in good fun_.

Still contemplating how wrong or right this was, I didn't notice I'd walked into Ron on the stairway.

"Sorry!" I squeaked-my uneasiness was making my pitch yo-yo. "Didn't see where I was going."

Without looking back, I ran the rest of the way downstairs, hurtling at the back door.

My hand was clammy and sweaty when I opened the door. The yard was empty except for a couple of gnomes, hiding in the bushes. I darted over to the shed, partially hidden in the shadow of the Weasley's house.

I opened the door. It creaked loudly, and I muttered, "Does _any_ door here stay silent when you open it?"

I stepped into the cramped shed and pulled the broom Fred and George had asked for, then shut the noisy door and ran like the wind to their 'headquarters'.

"Got it." I wheezed, opening the door and putting the broom on the floor.

"Perfect. Now just adjust a bit..." Fred passed me and George some kind of large purple clipper that I recognized as a 'Comet Quality Broom Clipper'.

For a good solid ten minutes we worked, re-arranging twigs and clipping the ends of others.

"Perfect!" Fred exclaimed. "Now we just need to test it."

"I'll do it!" I shouted, louder than was really necessary in such close quarters. Meredith and Elias always hogged their brooms.

I mounted the Cleansweep and rose into the air without a problem. Hovering, I grinned and said, "What do I do now, turn left?"

"Yeah." George said, stepping backwards.

"Cheers!" I pulled the handle to my left and leaned forward.

Suddenly, the broom began bucking around the room so strongly it threw me off. "Abandon ship!" I hollered, but it wasn't heard- the broom was spinning and flying madly into walls. Sickening _thwacks _filled the air as the Cleansweep left dents in the floor.

"I-" _thwack- _"-guess it was-" _thwack-_ "-the bottom-center twigs-" _thwack-_ "we weren't supposed to mess with!" I yelled, trying madly to get to the door.

"Run! Save yourselves!" Fred yelled, yanking open the door for the three of us to run out.

The second I was outside, George slammed the door so hard it shook the wall. We could still hear the berserk broom thrashing around- whenever it came in contact with a wall, the floor vibrated.

"What are we going to do?" I squealed, wringing my hands.

"One of us is gonna have to go in there and tackle it." Fred was holding the quaking doorknob.

"What are you doing?" Meredith and Charlie's footsteps had been drowned out by the broom.

It seemed no one knew what to say. There were now larger dents in the blue walls next to us.

"Fred and George, what this time?" Charlie sounded tired and slightly annoyed, but also amused.

"Ha, funny you should ask." I began, trying to buy us some time to make up some excuses. Then, an awesome idea came to me: "We tried to clip Percy's broom twigs for him, but the broom went really wonky, sorry!"

"Oh." Charlie's face softened a bit, and Fred and George's eyes looked a lot more at ease. "Well, let me see what I can do…"

We all stood against the opposite wall as Charlie bravely went to take care of the broom.

"Thanks for that, by the way." Fred said under his breath.

"I got good at excuses from my brother. To hide from this maniac," I tossed my head towards Meredith.

Charlie emerged at that second, holding a thrashing broom and wearing a triumphant smile.

"Charlie, you're a lifesaver!" Meredith tossed back her hair, but I don't think Charlie noticed.

"How do we get it back to its non-crazy battering-ram mode?" George put a careful hand on the wood of the broom.

"Until Percy rides it again," snickered Fred quietly.

"Just clip the top twigs really short." Charlie patted the end of the broom.

"I'll do it!" Meredith said in the exact loud tone I'd used when volunteering to ride the Cleansweep.

Blushing, she took the clippers from Charlie's hand and snipped the twigs just where Charlie had indicated.

"Why are you all crowded around my broomstick?" Percy had joined the crowd with a disapproving look on his face.

"Happy Birthday!" George grabbed the broom and held it in front of him, smiling innocently.

"But my birthday isn't for two weeks!" Percy looked confused and irritated.

"Nonsense, nonsense! We clipped the twigs for you!" Fred thrust the broomstick into Percy's arms.

Percy looked around at all of us, and then at the dents on the wall. "What happened up here?"

"Nothing, really!" Meredith smiled one of her girlish smiles and began to nudge him towards the stairs.

"It's fine, I just fell against the wall!" I helped prod him forward, and soon we were all jostling him down the stairs, us holding in laughter and him looking completely bewildered.

The second Percy was gone; I let out a huge laugh. Fred and George began to snicker too, and soon all five of us were chuckling. I began giggling so badly I snorted like a pig, and that just added fuel to the fire. We doubled over, tears streaming down my face and shaking horribly with laughter.

My forehead was pressed to the cool glass, looking back on one of my fondest memories. Call me sappy, but ever since I met the Weasleys, I've had some great times. But the one I was thinking about now, the first one I had. It was my favorite.

That was three years ago. Now, I was looking at the cars whizzing by through the window.

'_Hogwarts_.' I thought. That was where I was going, away from home for the first time. Hogwarts, where I'll be learning my first magic with my shiny new mahogany wand.

The car screeched to a stop. Despite the warm weather, I was shaking with nerves.

My sister and mother helped me get my trunk out, and we rolled it through the crowd of Muggles and wizards alike.

"Okay, Pam. Just do what I do!" Meredith took her trolley and charged full force at the barrier. The last of her hair disappeared, and I knew that was my cue to go. My palms sweaty, I took hold of my lopsided trolley and breathed in slowly.

Despite the odd looks that we'd just gotten, I ran towards the barrier too. A man in a business suit and tie strolled leisurely in front of the entrance to the platform.

"Augh!" I let out a cry when I swerved to avoid him. The whizzing wheel at the bottom of my trolley spun madly, but I still tried to regain control. I flew backwards, right into platform 9 ¾'s entrance.

My trolley tipped over and my vibrant pink trunk popped open. My socks and hats littered the platform now, and people were staring at my less-than-graceful arrival.

A familiar snigger, followed by a "Nice one, Alexander."

George and Fred had waltzed over to me, smirking. As I pulled the last of my socks into the trunk and closed it with a snap, I grinned and said, "Your mum got all mushy, right? I have a bad feeling about mine." I eyed my mother, whose brown eyes were filled with tears.

"Worse than Bill, if that's possible." Fred rolled his eyes.

"Well, there _are_ two of you, right?" I beamed. "It's like a double loss!"

"Find our compartment, all right?" George began wheeling my cart towards the red steam train. "Here comes your mum, by the way!"

Sure enough, my head was encased in a skull-snapping hug seconds later. My mother was sobbing into my thin brown hair. "My little baby girl! Off to Hogwarts!" She thankfully released my head and stared into my face. "Write often, sweetheart! And you better get going, the train's about to leave!"

"Love you, Mum, Dad! And tell Peyton and Elias that too, all right?" I blew a kiss and ran to get on the train.

Walking through the curtain of students trying to find a seat, I realized my eyes were a little wet. "I can do this!" I whispered to myself.

Every compartment was filled with students. Looking for Fred and George's compartment (and my luggage), I wondered what this could bring. A crazy adventure? Awesome magic lessons? Killer Quidditch games?

I sure hope so.


	3. Striped Socks Do No Good

**Disclaimer: **Since I forgot to put one in earlier. I don't own Harry Potter, and if I did, I would crack under the responsibility.

**Chapter 3**

I could feel the tremors of the scarlet train as it rumbled away from the station. The aisle of the train was carpeted in red, and the Hogwarts crest was draped on the walls in the form of tapestries. They were actually quite interesting; the lion roared, the eagle flapped its wings, the badger shook its head and the snake hissed so realistically I jumped.

Peering nervously into each of the compartment widows, I searched for George, Fred and my violently bright trunk. I'd used it for easy identification, so where the heck was it?

I finally found them near the back of the train, engrossed in conversation. By now I was one of the only ones still in the hall searching for a seat.

The door slid open easily and I slid into the cushy seat across from the two. They didn't seem to even notice I was there; their heads were almost pressed together and they were speaking in hushed voices.

"Yeah, hi, other person in the room." I looked at them expectantly. They both jumped, and I heard a dull _thud_ as their foreheads knocked together.

"Jeez, Pam." George rubbed his forehead.

"Nearly made me knock the luggage loose. Wouldn't be pretty." Fred groaned.

Before I could defend myself, the door slid open again and a girl stepped in, hauling an owl and a massive trunk.

"Yeah, comin' through, scoot over please, Abe needs the floor." She spoke in such a rushed tone; it seemed like a video put on fast-forward. "This seat taken?" She stared at me over her shoulder as she wedged the black trunk into the overhead above Fred and George.

"Nope." I shifted to the window half of the seat as she sat, stretching her long legs over to the other side.

"Madison Flynn, by the way." The girl flicked open a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and began reading. "Well? Redheads One and Two? Brown-Eyes?" Madison raised an eyebrow in anticipation. "You know, it's gonna get really awkward if none of you _talk_."

"Cuz it's not awkward _at all_ right now." I muttered under my breath. Fred and George smirked, but Madison didn't seem to notice.

"George is my brother," Fred began.

"And Fred is my twin." George finished.

"And you?" Madison turned to me, barely after George had finished speaking. I suddenly realized how small my socks were and how my hair was falling really bizarrely today.

"I'm Pam…" I trailed off, intending to finish my sentence, but Madison still stared at me.

"Nice to meet you?" I added, hoping it would suffice – this girl was pretty odd.

"Yeah, you too." Madison returned to reading the _Daily Prophet_. "By the way, Pam, you're the one with the pink trunk right? Because you're missing your other red and purple sock."

Utterly bemused, I stuttered, "W_hat_?"

"Your _graceful_ arrival was pretty much noticed by everyone. When your trunk opened, your sock fell onto the track. You didn't notice, did you? Though I guess if you did, you wouldn't have left it there." Madison grinned.

"Aww, those were my favorite socks! And these things, ugh." I pointed at my feet. "My socks are on too tight!"

Everyone laughed. "What?" I said. Catching on, I continued, "Seriously, guys! These aren't my socks!"

"Whose socks are they then?" Madison giggled.

"Peyton's! My eight-year-old brothers'!" Their laughter was contagious; soon I was laughing too.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" In the giggle fit, we hadn't noticed a witch driving a trolley full of sweets.

"Yeah, we'll have six Pumpkin Pasties and…" Madison had shot up like an arrow, and now stood counting our heads. "Six Chocolate Frogs. On me," She added, because we'd all began to root through our pockets for money.

Once we had settled and distributed candy, Fred piped up. "Y'know Pam, if you wanna get rid of those socks, we can…_arrange_ that." He flashed one of his playful-evil smiles that he always gave right before a big prank planning session.

"All right, what are we going to do this time?" I smiled. "Wait, we need to do it soon."

"What do you mean by that?" George looked at me with both curiosity and amusement in his face.

"Hello, I want some part in this." Madison waved her hand around, as if greeting someone.

"Well, I'm sitting here, aren't I? And I'm an evil genius, too." She added, after I raised my eyebrows a fraction of an inch.

"Uh, okay." I caught the twins' eyes and shrugged, while Madison tore open another Pumpkin Pasty.

"There anyone you don't like?" Madison said thickly through a bite of sweets.

"Not yet, but…who knows?" I replied.

"Oh Pam, you eternal optimist." Fred said sarcastically. "Though we are bound to make some kind of enemy."

"Death-Eater'skids." George fake-coughed. I giggled, but Madison nearly snorted Pumpkin Pasty out her nose. "To play a prank involving socks on a Death-Eating brat…my life's aspiration!" She yelled the last three words so loudly; they seemed to echo throughout the small compartment.

"Well, we should get to work then," Fred grinned. "Now, what's this genius plan of yours?" He turned to Madison.

"Two words." Madison smirked confidently, "Leprechaun gold."  
This girl _was_ odd. "What? That makes no-" I began, but Madison cut me off.

"Hear me out. We get someone's socks and switch them with yours. But why stop there? Bewitch the socks so they vanish whenever someone tries to put them on." She beamed expectantly at our blank faces. George was the first one to speak what was occurring to all of us: "That's great and all, but none of us know how to do that."

"Any of you guys have older bro's and sisters?" Madison's smile didn't falter.

"Unfortunately." Fred mock-sighed.

"Then we don't need to know how. Take their textbooks and let _me_ know." Madison looked downright evil by this point.

Just then, the door slid open once again and Meredith stood in the entrance. She couldn't come any further in; Madison's legs blocked the doorway.

"Just letting you know you should change into your school robes. The train'll be arriving in a couple minutes. And make sure your robes are waterproof, Pam!" She cackled and ran away, letting the door slip shut with a _bang_.

"What does she-?" I was getting a little worried as we pulled out our school uniform.

"First years ride to Hogwarts in boats. We've gotten the story so many times, we're sick of it." George affirmed my worst nightmare.

"B-boats? Why boats? Can I get an exception and ride in the carriage? " I babbled.

"Pam, don't tell me you're scared of _boats_. The giant squid's perfectly friendly." Madison shrugged.

"Giant _WHAT_?!" I yelped.

"We really need to get dressed." Fred put an end to the conversation.

"I'm not taking off my clothes with you two standing there!" Madison slapped an arm over her chest.

"We're not going to get dressed in the hallway, if that's what you're saying!" George retaliated, looking incredulous.

"Hmm. Good idea, Fred." Madison smirked. "Rock-paper-scissors. Losers have to dress in the hall."

"_I'm_ Fred, and you're on." Declared Fred angrily.

We all stood up and glared at each other like a scene out of an old Muggle Western movie.

"On 'scissors'," Madison held out a fist, and so did George. I stared down Fred.

"Rock, paper, SCISSORS!" Madison howled. Fred held out a fist, and held it over my meager two fingers.

Incomprehensible, but unarguably angry, words spilled form Madison's mouth. "You lost too?" I winced.

"Yes, but only because George _cheated_!" She accused, jabbing a finger onto his chest.

"What? I didn't cheat!" argued George, who seemed stunned.

"Yeah, I bet he didn't!" Fred vouched for his twin, turning on his heel to face Madison.

As the argument unfolded, I slinked away behind all of them and quickly dressed into my school uniform. It wasn't the best spot, but nobody was paying me any attention anyway.

"OI!" I butted into the argument. It wasn't much of a fight anymore; but they were glaring so fiercely, I wouldn't be surprised to see rays of fire burst from their pupils.

"We're almost there, all right? Just get dressed." I poked one of the twins in the back.

He turned to face me; it was George. "What the-? Since when have you been…?" I just smirked at him.

"I'll hold up a robe or something on Madison's side, and you guys can get dressed on the other. The train's gonna stop any time now."

"It beats changing in the hall." Madison agreed- her tone was slightly apologetic.

I held up the soft silk robe – Madison's – and waited for them to finish up.

"Uh, Pam? Your skirt is stuck in your undies." Madison chuckled.

"Gah, what?" I dropped half of the robe in surprise, frantically pulling on the gray skirt.

"Pam, bloody- pick it back up!" One of the twins yanked the side I had dropped up with such force the delicate black robe was pulled quite taut.

"Heh, sorry! Well, you had pants on!" Five minutes later I was defending my actions as we hauled our trunks off of the train.

"You were lucky we did. Or maybe-" Fred grinned slyly, but I punched his arm. "Don't even finish that sentence. Ever."

"Firs' years over here! Firs' years!" A large lantern swung in front of us. It was dark, damp, and misty here.

"That's cool; I didn't know they bewitched the lights to talk!" Madison's eyes widened in delight.

"Madison, that's no light." My eyes widened too, but not in delight- they were in shock.

A huge man, twice as tall as my dad and twice as wide too, stood swinging a lamp. The four of us all approached him, luckily behind a thin layer of other first years.

"I'm not even up to his thighs!" George exclaimed. He was right; not even Madison, who was tallest, reached his massive waist.

"Firs' years follow me!" The huge man didn't need to yell. All the first years were either too shocked or too scared to speak.

"We're off to the boats!" Madison searched my face for a reaction. My face probably looked scared, but the worse reaction was in my stomach.

I grabbed it and moaned, "Why did you buy me so many Chocolate Frogs? I think I'm gonna be sick."

"It's not going to be that bad. The merpeople don't even like to come to the surface." I think Fred was trying to calm me down, but that made me even sicker.

We reached the lakeshore quickly. It was covered in small boats; they looked like they could hold about four people.

I was shaking form head to foot as we approached one of the rickety-looking rowboats. As the rest of the kids piled in, visions of a giant octopus rearing out of the water and pulling us to our doom was all I could see.

"Pam, get _in_." Madison tugged at my robes, pulling me back to reality. The three of them were already seated, nearly ready to push off.

I took a deep breath and sat down next to Madison.

"Hogwarts, here we come!" George yelled into the air as the boats began to move.


	4. Just Shut Up and Let The Hat Sort You

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. I'm content with . :D**

Chapter 4:

I had a white-knuckled grip on the side of the boat. I kept my mouth shut so tight my jaw muscles were sore, and my eyes hurt from being so wide. Every little movement made me scream.

Another small roll of the water, and I hollered in Madison's ear. Again.

"Pam, shut up, please. My ear hurts." She complained, nudging my head away from hers. "And you have a bloody death grip in the boat. It's going to break if you keep holding it like that."

"What? The boats are _that_ feeble? Like r-rice paper?" I withdrew my hand so quickly the boat rocked. "Holy-!" I bellowed, grabbing Madison's arm and wrapping my arms around it like my life depended on it. Actually, it did – I don't know how to swim.

"Clingy much? Hold onto him." She shook her arm out of my grip and pointed at the twin in front of me.

At the realization I was just sitting there, with nothing to hug desperately onto, I lurched forward and threw my arms around the head of George. Or was it Fred?

"Gah!" Yep, that was Fred all right. My weight made the boat tip precariously forward near the deep pit of black that was the lake.

"Oh my God, I'm gonna die!" I shrieked, jumping backwards back into my seat. The little ship rocked backwards and forwards, still propelled forward by magic.

"Neegh…" My stomach quaked so violently I thought I was going to throw up-

I leaned my head over the side of the boat and…well, the surface wasn't totally black anymore.

"Oh gross! Yuck! Boat, speed up!" Madison commanded, making the boat lurch forward. It left thick ripples in the black water behind us. Still shaking with fear and drenched in sweat, and now smelling like sick, I clutched the bottom of my seat with my face in my knees until we got to the shore.

"Thank God _that's _over." The second I felt the boat breech the shore, I leapt out and lined up with the rest of the kids to walk up to the entrance.

My stomach was still fluttering with nerves. Now we were on to the sorting ceremony, which Elias had told me was nothing but putting on an old hat and talking to it. Or it talking to you. Something like that.

We mad our way to the huge front doors of the castle. Now I knew why everyone called Hogwarts majestic- the spiraling stone and the towers made the castle seem to breathe; and it had a certain royal air.

The giant man knocked on the door. The doors opened barley a second later, and a serious-looking witch stood in the doorway.

"These are the firs' years, Professor." He held out a large hand over our heads.

"Thank you, Hagrid." The witch nodded curtly and turned to walk into the enormous entrance hall. "Students, follow me please."

Still sweating cold bullets, I was shocked to hear Madison say, "I'm terrified."

"What? There's nothing to be scared of, you just have to put on a hat." I smiled reassuringly. She nodded and gulped, and soon we stopped in a smaller room just off of where we'd just entered. There was the buzzing of voices in the entrance hall, but in here it was eerily quiet.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," The witch began. "I am Professor McGonagall and I…"

She continued, but I was staring at my feet, lost in thought. I already knew there were four Houses: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. My sister and brother were both Ravenclaws, and my mother had been a Hufflepuff. Meredith had told me about mean old Slytherin House, and how everyone there was rotten… but I got hardly anything on Gryffindor. I think Elias had once mentioned they were bigoted, too brave for their own good, and a bunch of other thing's I'd get killed for saying.

Suddenly, the whole crowd jolted forward and I toppled into George.

"Sorry," I brushed myself off.

"No problem, just wish you didn't smell like sick." He joked, and we fell into step with the rest of the crowd. "Me and Fred are definitely going to be in Gryffindor. Hope to see you there." With that, he dashed over to his twin.

When the doors to the Great Hall opened, I actually stumbled over my robes a bit. The tall ceiling opened to the sky- or looked like it. It had begun to rain, but the water wasn't hitting any of us, nor the floating candles that hovered above the five long tables.

Professors, or what they seemed to be, sat at the fifth table at the front of the Hall.

A small stool stood in front of us, with a ratty, dirty and patched hat atop it like a dingy crown.

I scoped out the Hall for my brother and sister, and the Ravenclaw table. They were staring at the line with small smiles, but I was hidden amidst other children that were taller than me.

Suddenly, a rip near the base opened wide, and the hat began to sing- _sing_!

_Why, I'm the Sorting Hat, you see…_

I elbowed Madison, and her face was so gleeful, she looked like a small child in a candy shop.

I didn't listen much to the song, either. My hands and legs had begun to shake again, and I was worried I would trip over the stool or sit at the wrong table.

"Abbey, Neil." Professor McGonagall had unfolded a long scroll and was now reading off of it.

A tall blond boy sat onto the stool, and the Hat's various rips now looked like a face lost in thought. After a few seconds, it called out, "_HUFFELPUFF_!"

"Alexander, Pam."

Shakily, I approached the stool, and my impending social doom.

The hat was set on my head the second I'd sat down, and it slipped over my eyes.

'_My, my, you're a difficult one, aren't you?' _A voice commented in my head.

My first thought was, _'Oh my God, someone's in my head,_' followed by _'Can everyone hear us?_'

'_No, they can only hear when I proclaim your house_,' the Hat explained. _'You're not quite Ravenclaw material…you are quite loyal and hardworking, though…,'_ it mused.

I _wanted_ to be in Gryffindor. For some reason, it seemed like a great House.

'_Gryffindor, huh? Bravery, chivalry, and nerve.' _I could feel its long, thin flap smiling.

'_Well, I'm nerv_ous_, but that's not what you're looking for, right?_' I kidded to the Hat. And then mentally kicked myself for making such a cheesy joke, although nobody could hear me.

'_Well, you've got more bravery and nerve than you think…I declare, _GRYFFINDOR!' The last word echoed throughout my head. I pulled off the Sorting Hat and set it onto the stool, then walked toward the table that had begun to cheer. As I walked past the Ravenclaw table, I heard my brother saying, "Not my baby sister, with those egotistical gits!"

I settled onto a seat near the end and stared longingly at the golden plates in front of me. Figuring the food would come soon and I could serve myself then, I rested my arm over it.

Before I knew it, McGonagall's sharp voice had called out, "Flynn, Madison!"

I saw the Hat slip over my friend's dark hair, and it slid over her short nose as well.

For nearly an entire minute, the Hat remained mute. Then it quite suddenly yelled, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

I stood up and whooped with the rest of the Gryffindors. Madison settled down beside me; she was oddly solemn.

"What's up?" I asked.

"The hat said that the only reason I didn't get put in…_Slytherin_," She pronounced every syllable with loathing, "Is because I was too selfless. To be quite honest, I was expecting Ravenclaw. Like I'd save strangers before myself. Sorry, but come on." She rolled her eyes, and we watched the rest of the Sorting unfold quietly, cheering for fellow Gryffindors Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson, who had sat down across from us.

Sooner than I expected, I heard the name "Weasley, Fredrick."

"Oh Snitch, him and George better be sorted into Gryffindor." I murmured.

"Oh _Snitch_? What?" Madison raised an eyebrow. "So I see you're a Quidditch nerd too," she commented.

"I don't play," I pointed out.

"That's a shame. I was hoping to try out my Chaser skills with you." Madison sighed, drumming her fingers on her plate.

Suddenly the Gryffindor table erupted in cheers, and Fred practically danced over, a grin on his face.

"Too bad for Gryffindor." Fred shrugged.

"What, why?" I worried what he meant by that. "We're all in the same House, right?" I turned to see George coming over towards us all.

"We're gonna make so much trouble, the Gryffindors not going to have any House points."

"Hose points? What?" I questioned. What was he _talking_ about?

"Oh come on, Pam! Even we listened." George said in an exasperated tone, but he was laughing as well.

"Good things equal more House points. Bad things equals minus House points. House with the most points wins the House cup." Madison explained in a tone someone would use when talking to a confused toddler.

"Oh. _Oh_, okay." I smiled with realization as food appeared on our plates. And that smile turned quickly into a frown, because my elbow was in my mashed potatoes.

Nevertheless, they looked pretty delicious. (The ones on my plate, not on my sleeve.)

**A/N:** Yes this chapter is very short. Sorry. :P


	5. Shouting Doesn't Make It Work Any Better

**Chapter 5**

"This is better than I thought it would be," Madison managed to say through her enormous mouthful of pork chops.

"Yeah, yeah, asked for the news, not the weather." I groaned, flicking some chewed pork off of my shoulder.

"I'm gonna ignore that, seeing as you're the one who managed to get potato all over your robes not even ten seconds in." Madison had swallowed her pork (how, I don't know) and had taken on a snide voice and expression.

"Ladies, _ladies_." Fred held up his hands, attempting to call a truce. "You're both messy eaters."

"_What_!?" We both rounded on Fred, who flinched slightly at our furious expressions. "I was kidding, Madison. Maybe not so much about Pam…"

"See here!" I stood up and leaned over the table, yelling at him through a spoonful – wait, make that a handful – of cut-up sausages. "Do I look like a messy eater, mate?" My crumbs nearly showered him. He opened his mouth, but I cut him off. "Don't answer that unless you want my dinner plate shoved in your face." I retreated back into my seat, George's laughter in my ear.

The potatoes that I was about to take a forkful of disappeared, and reappeared as cheesecake. The perfect kind- the kind that looks like it stepped out of a cookbook, with vanilla ice cream on top. Well, cheesecake can't step, but you get my drift.

I barely spoke all of dessert. All I did was shove slice after slice of cake and cheesecake down my throat, savoring every second of it. When I finally looked up, all three of my friends were staring at me with amused expressions on their faces. The exact same look was behind George and Fred's eyes, the look that said, '_Witty remark in the works_.' Sometimes, though, this look also said '_My brain and mouth aren't really connected._'

But Madison was the first one to say, "So, how was the cake? Seeing as there's none left."

I glared at her, but the Shut Up meaning was lost because my face was covered in pink and white frosting. I hastily wiped it off and looked to the source of my enjoyment. Sure enough, the only things left were crumbs.

"Ugh, now I feel sick. I don't know how _you guys_-" I held up an accusatory finger at George first, then Fred, "let me eat all of that! You can't have forgotten last time I ate this much."

Madison looked completely befuddled, but Fred piped up, "Not possible to forget. It wasn't pleasant, Madison. It's too gross to say over dinner, but it had something to do with sick, dinner plates and seedless cherries."

The last of the dessert disappeared, and Prefects were yelling, "First years follow me to your common rooms!" over the din of well-fed voices.

I spotted Elias a few tables over, waving to the new Ravenclaw kids.

The walk up seven stories was tiring, but amazing. We were going up a staircase, when I felt it tremble. With barley a sound, it began to swing towards a different landing.

I clung to Madison and screamed. Very loudly.

Most heads turned to look at me, even the Prefect who was leading us.

"Uh...I'm…neh…" I stumbled over my own speech, searching for an excuse, or at least something to make me look less stupid.

"She's scared of heights. **Acrophobic.**" Madison said smoothly. _Jeez_, she's a great liar.

"Ah. Well, let's keep moving." The prefect turned and beckoned us forward once more.

We finally reached the seventh floor. Suddenly, the crowd stopped in front of a portrait of a woman in a pink dress.

The prefect murmured, "Jobberknoll," and the painting swung open to reveal a hole in the wall. We all filed in, and nervous chatter erupted.

"Whoa!" I yelled in surprise. Beyond the wall, there was a large and circular room, decorated in red and gold. Its fireplace crackled merrily, and many cushy-looking armchairs speckled the fuzzy rug.

"Girls' dormitories are to the left, and boys to the right." The Prefect gestured towards two spiraling staircases in the back of the room.

Everyone was beat, and I was no exception. We told 'Good night,' to Fred and George and proceeded up the spiral staircase.

Our stuff was already there. I opened my trunk and pulled out my favorite pajamas- a soft gray shirt and shorts.

The beds were amazing- deep red hangings and nice crisp sheets. I lay in the bed closest to the entrance, and was asleep at once.

X

I was being shaken awake. _Shake, shake, and shake. _I felt a hand on my shoulder, nails digging into my skin.

"Neegh, geroff." I said, still half-asleep.

No response except a slap in the face. My hand felt my cheek, which stung like it had been burned.

I finally opened my eyes. Madison's face was inches from mine, and she looked seriously angry.

"Holy!" I yelped, squirming to get out from under the covers. But I was above them, and that was odd. I moved to sit up. Madison had backed off, but her face was still irritated and her arms were folded across her chest. My feet were oddly heavy; I looked down. I was still in yesterday's robes- I even had my shoes on.

Before I could question anything, Madison spoke up. "Whose luggage is at the foot of this bed?"

I leaned over the footboard to look. Instead of my brightly colored trunk, a black trunk stared back at me.

"The second you were in here, you fell asleep on the closest bed. _Which_ just so happened to be mine. So get up! Your bed is the one closest to the window, on the other side."

She was right; my pink trunk was at the far end of the dormitory.

"But I put my pj's on and everything!" The second these words were out of my mouth, I realized how moronic I sounded.

"You dreamed it, you git!" Madison was now completely wound up. "If you want some more sleep, go sleep in your own dang bed. It's four in the morning, by the way."

I stood up, brushed myself off, and vowed revenge.

I woke up again a few hours later, luckily of my own accord and not by some psycho slapping me in the face. The other girls were getting ready for the first day of education.

I stood up slowly, eager for breakfast but dreading the coming lessons. It's not like I didn't want to learn, I just didn't want to mess up. Ugh, all that made my head spin.

X

Our first class ever was Transfiguration. We were supposed to be Transfiguring a matchstick into a sewing needle, but I wasn't doing so well. Madison was next to me, struggling as well. Her match had become long and silver, but it still bent every which way.

"Verta postula!" I tapped my wand against the match, and the head glowed silver, but soon faded again.

"No wonder you're not doing anything, that's not the right spell." Madison looked at me over her glasses. "It's '_Verto postulo_.'"

"Aha!" I beamed. I knew I didn't stink at magic; my listening skills just weren't all that great.

"Verto postulo." I said, quietly but confidently. The end of the match, the very tip, became silver.

"Verto postulo!" I prodded it with my wand, saying the spell a little louder this time. The silver tip sharpened, but nothing else.

"Verto postulo!" Yelling the spell now, I stabbed it with the tip of my wand. A little more became silver. Maybe a millimeter.

"VERTO POSTULO!" I bellowed, bringing my wand over my head, and then swinging it down with both hands.

Half the match was silver, nothing else.

Professor McGonagall looked at me and raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. "First and last warning, Miss Alexander. One other misbehavior like that and you get detention for three days."

"Must be a record! Nice job," George leaned across the aisle to comment. "By the way, you're not supposed to be touching the match with your wand. Just hover over it," He added to Madison, who looked dumbstruck. So was I.

"Grrr…"


	6. We Solemnly Swear

**Chapter 6:**

The next few days flew by, and flew by fast. It was a blur of Madison's triumph and my whining about this and that, trying for excuses why I was awful at Transfiguration and why any mention of Potions made my heart sink faster than throwing myself into the Great Lake. Needless to say, I needed a good amount of mischief by Sunday morning.

After breakfast, I shuffled around on the grounds alone for a bit. The forest was a great wall of foliage in the distance. It reminded me of home, and the thicket of trees behind my house. Dang, that gave me a pang of homesickness. I sat down on the grass, which was blowing quietly in the breeze. The leaves on the trees rustled softy, and the surface of the lake was almost as smooth as glass. The deep blue water occasionally rippled, and another vision of the freaky squid emerging from the water struck me again. _That _made me scoot back a good three yards. I felt kinda bad, leaving mud on the well-kept grass, but it was that or death. Sort of.

Here, it was cooler, in the shade of the trees. They stood above me like giants, with gnarled roots for feet and fuzzy green hair. There were other people milling around the grounds on this gorgeous day, but I was unbothered in my niche. And this got me wondering why the peaceful-looking forest was forbidden. Before I could conclude, though, the twins were high-tailing it over to where I was seated, curled up in a ball with my useless and random thoughts for company. It was a wonder how they spotted me. Figuring I should meet them in the middle- after all, they were pretty far off- I stood up and jogged over to meet them. They wore identical evil smiles, and they had a gleam in their eyes that told me I was getting what Iwas hungry for- chaos.

"Yeah, yeah, where are we plotting this?" I flicked my thin hair over my shoulder, trying to act aloof and nonchalant.

"Easy now. Getting our hands on _these_ wasn't easy." George's grin widened, and they both held up Dungbombs, two clasped in each of their hands.

"You _stole_ them?!" I shrieked, my eyes bulging like a bullfrog's.

"We would never think to stoop so low, Pam! We've had these for a while. We smuggled them into school." Fred threw one lazily up into the air, letting it fall into my hands. They were putrid-looking green and brown, and adding to their ugliness, shaped like pears.

"But I thought they checked all the first years' luggage?" I commented, tossing the hideous thing from hand to hand.

"Well, they don't check the _third_ years' bags…" George raised an eyebrow, and his grin turned to a smirk.

"You two, tell me if I'm wrong: Percy is more of an unsuspecting passer-by that you guys manipulate than a brother."

"I wouldn't say _unsuspecting_…"

X

Ten minutes later, we were in the boy's dormitory. Fred and George lounged on their beds, snacking on candy and listening to me ramble and pace like a maniac.

"So, I get what we're trying to do, but we have to arrange it so none of us are suspected or get hit with the stench. One of us has got to try and get a couple of Slytherinites-"

"Slytherinites?" George questioned, still chomping on Drooble's Best.

"Slytherin kids. Toss me some Droobles, will you?" I caught the gumball in my clammy hands and popped it into my mouth. The sweet taste was a comfort, but it got me into a bad habit with gum- more smashing my bottom jaw against my top than actually chewing.

"So," I plowed on, still pacing like a crazy person, "Like I was saying, we have to lure some kids into the second-floor corridor on the left, second when you get off of the white marble staircase from the furthest right part of the main stairway in the Entrance Hall. You two will take center position on the northern balcony on the third floor. I'll gather as many people as I can with some outrageous story, and when I give the signal, you both launch two Dungbombs each to where I'm standing. Before they hit, I'll go down the right-hand corridor, west to you guys, and wait in front of the classroom. You two go down the stairwell on the right, then hang a left and meet me. We proceed back here to gloat and pig out. Correct?" I finally stopped and stared into both their eyes, one at a time.

"I lost you at 'center position'. Your gum is stuck in your hair, by the way." Fred looked calmly innocent, but slightly arrogant. I call it the "Word Hit!" look.

"Ugh…" I slapped my palm to my forehead, and then began to pull my blue gum out of my poor, poor hair.

X

A solid twenty minutes after that we were in position, ready to get some catastrophe rolling.

I saw a thick group of silver and green-clad first years pass by. Perfect.

"Hey guys!" I yelled, trying to wave them flamboyantly over and cover the lion on my shirt at the same time. "There's one violent game of Exploding Snap going on, I think someone lost an eye!"

The girl in the front's head snapped up. _Jackpot_.

"Follow me!" I turned and jogged as slowly as I could up the stairs, making sure they were right on my heels. Through twisting corridors and moving staircases I lead them, careful to swallow my scream when the stairs began to shake.

Before I knew it we were there. Trying to appear inconspicuous, I looked up to see some red hair in the balcony across from us.

Before they could call me out for my lost eye lie, I clapped my hands- hard. Like Bludgers, the Dungbombs were whizzing straight towards me. With mysteriously new agility, I leapt crazily out of the way as the scent of horse poo and burning toast filled the air behind me.

I ran like crazy towards the meeting spot, only to find the twins already there.

The very second I had caught up with them; the two began to charge down the hall.

Panting, I asked them, "Why…are…we…running?"  
"Filch saw us!" Fred exclaimed, not stopping as we slid around the corner. I crashed into the wall (stupid shoes!) but picked up the pace and kept thundering after them.

That is, until Filch got in my way. A second later, we all were in a comical heap. I had head-butted Filch, who had fallen over onto George and Fred.

Hey, it's not _my_ fault the guy decided to walk around the corner while we were trying to avoid him!

X

"Blatant disrespect for school rules…sneaking banned items onto the premises…premeditated harm…" Filch was ranting us out a couple of minutes later. Fred, George and I were wedged onto the only chair facing Filch's desk. Partially because we're all way too stubborn to stand, and also because Filch grabbed our skulls and forced us down after nearly two minutes of debating. His words were getting less and less comprehensible, and he had begun to ponder punishments like hanging from the ceiling of the dungeons for three days straight and disemboweling us with our own wands- let me stop there. They got worse.

Still babbling, he turned and started digging through his files for our records. This gave us a little time to improvise. Seated on the right end of the small wooden chair, I peered around the small room. Filing cabinet after filing cabinet of records and confiscated items that could fit in the drawers. A cabinet just out of my reach caught my attention. Its lowest drawer was slightly ajar, and a piece of parchment was sticking out. Over the front of the drawer had a stamp that read in fierce red letters; "Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

"Hey, what's that?" I whispered, poking Fred. "It doesn't _look_ dangerous."

"Well, if Filch has it, that piece of parchment must be worthwhile." Fred murmured a reply as Filch began scrawling out our offenses. "George, do you still have a Dungbomb left?"

"I know _exactly_ what you're thinking." Even with my butt barely a quarter of the way onto the seat, I saw George grin slightly. Quick as a flash and stealthy as a snake, George tossed a Dungbomb out the door of Filch's office and into the corridor beyond.

With a loud crack it exploded, sending their distinct foul odor into the air.

Filch's head snapped up, and he hurried out the door to search in vain for the culprit. Eyes stinging from the stench and shoulders shaking from laughter, I watched Fred snatch the paper from the drawer.

"Let Pam take it," George said quietly, and Fred obliged, shoving it into my hands.

"Why?" I sat there, dumbly holding the stolen paper in my hands.

"He's not going to suspect you, you're a girl. With huge 'It wasn't me!' eyes," Fred said, his face looking at me in the '_duh_!' way only people who you like can pull off without getting hurt.

"You guys are sexist, so, _so_ badly." I rolled my eyes but shoved the paper in my pocket anyway.

Filch hobbled back in, even angrier than before. "Detention! Monday through Wednesday, three in the afternoon, polishing trophies! Out!" He hollered, sending spit down onto all of us. We shambled out of there, exchanging high-fives the second we were out of earshot.

Thank Merlin Filch is such an idiot.

X

Back at Headquarters, also known as the boy's dorm, the three of us sat in the center of the circular room, completely stumped.

"For the past, what, fifteen minutes? We've been sitting here trying to make this stupid thing work!" I ran my fingers through my hair in exasperation.

"It's got to be something, right? Filch doesn't have all the twigs on his broomstick, but he wouldn't confiscate something as useless as a blank piece of paper." George poked the paper with his wand again, looking serious for once.

"It's probably not a spell. We've ruled those out, right? Maybe we have to say an oath or something." Fred spoke up, finally contributing something worthwhile after being silent for five minutes straight.

"You're a genius. All right, cross your fingers." I instructed, tapping my wand to the page.

"We…pledge our whole hearts to the art of mischief-making?"

Nothing.

"Didn't expect anything, to be honest. That's too long." George reasoned. "Try something simpler."

"Fine," I croaked bitterly. "We swear we will do mischief for as long as…I'm getting off course here. We swear we're troublemakers."

Again, the parchment triumphed.

"Uh, throw in some fancy vocabulary. Like 'somber' or something." Fred suggested. "Let me try this… We somberly pledge that we do no good."

The parchment remained stubbornly empty.

"Ugh…this is infuriating!" I smacked the paper with my left hand. "Last time before I rip my hair out: We swear to Merlin we are up to no good."

I growled in frustration. "Was it even worth taking?"

"'Up to no good'…" George organized his thoughts aloud. "Maybe it's singular?"

"It's worth a shot." Fred replied, both their faces twisted in thought and concentration.

"No, it's not. I give up!" I began pulling on my split ends, willing them to un-split themselves.

"Aw, don't be so impatient. At least watch us try to figure it out." Fred looked me right in the face, giving me his 'Please?' smirk.

"Yeah, yeah." I flipped onto my stomach, listening as they sorted out their thoughts like unraveling a knot. Too bad our puzzle was getting nowhere.

"I gravely swear that I am up to no good." George tried, tapping his ash wand on the increasingly aggravating parchment, which I now noticed was singed at some parts and stained with faded blotches of pumpkin juice in others.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Thin lines of black ink spread from where Fred's almond wand had landed.

"Holy!" I sat up straight and watched in amazement as a header crept its way along the page.

_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers_

_Are Proud to Present_

_**The Marauder's Map**_

Only then did I notice this thing was a map. A map of Hogwarts, with little moving dots.

"What are the dots for?" I whispered, too in awe to speak normally.

"They're people! They have names above them." Came Fred's reply in me ear.

In the Gryffindor common room, there was Madison, obviously seated in an armchair. Lee Jordan was entering the portrait hole right now, and there were us three, in the middle of the boy's dormitory.

"This is completely amazing!" I grinned, ear to ear.

"It's the ultimate tool," George's smile was so wide, he could have eaten his hair.

"Watch out Hogwarts, here we come!" Fred exclaimed. He had the exact same expression as George.

The Marauder's Map, my newest best friend.


	7. Stuck in a Pickle or a Pumpkin

Chapter 7: In a Pickle…or a Pumpkin

Astoundingly, Fred, George and I were able to avoid at least five more detentions by October twenty-ninth. That thing is _really_ useful- it even shows passageways in and out of Hogwarts, and most of them go to Hogsmeade. You know we couldn't resist.

And since Halloween ended up being a Hogsmeade weekend, we were back in the boy's dormitory, planning our escape.

X

"So we're using _this_ one, right? Not the one below it?" I pointed to the passages George had indicated.

"No, _this_ one. The corridor behind the slot where the knight's armor usually goes. It's right outside the DADA classroom, the knight with the red feather." Fred poked two winding lines heading away from the castle.

"But…I thought…oh well, whatever." I regained my thoughts and continued, "So when we come up from there, it's going to lead us right behind the Three Broomsticks. We go up the alley and into Honeydukes, get some candy and head over to Zonko's. When we finish up there, it's the Three Broomsticks and then back here. Right?"

"You always get so _specific_. Can't we just roam wherever strikes our fancy?" Fred whined.

"But we're on a time constraint! We can't just run around, and won't it be strange to see eleven year olds in Hogwarts robes laughing it up in Hogsmeade?" I swung my wand through the air at every other syllable for emphasis.

"Can't we bring other clothes and change on the way there and back?" George made a decent point.

"Oh no. It'll be the train here all over again. No way, no way, _no way_." I may have sounded a bit crazy, but I'm not interested in seeing their underwear.

"You've made your point, Pam. Re_lax_. All of us will just lay low." Fred brought his hands up and lowered them, as if he was trying to lower the volume on my voice. "Meet by the red feathery knight in a half an hour?"

"Agreed." George nodded.

"Yeah, yeah." I grabbed a piece of the twins' gum and started chomping.

X

I stood fiddling with my thumbs, right in front of the red feathery knight a half an hour later. I've done my share of downright insane things, but I've never snuck out of anywhere before. Ever. So I was feeling a little nervous.

When Fred and George arrived behind me quietly, I nearly shot out of my skin.

"What's wrong with you?" George asked, pulling out his wand.

"Ju-just a little…apprehensive." My legs could barely hold me up.

"A 'little apprehensive'? You're sweating buckets and shaking from head to foot." Fred grinned. "It'll be fine; nobody's going to catch us."

"All right." I took such a deep breath my lungs nearly burst, and stepped into the hole that had appeared behind the knight's armor.

The stone swung shut behind us, and Fred raised his wand and muttered, '_Lumos_.'

We did the same, and soon the passageway was filled with light. It was earthy and damp. I took a long stride forward, but my foot felt no ground beneath it. In a split second, my stomach fell out of my body and I plunged down a deep, black pit.

Or I thought I did. I landed a measly foot below, on solid stone steps.

"It's fine, guys!" I called behind me, taking a few hesitant steps downstairs.

X

What felt like years, but was only a few minutes later, the passageway ended abruptly. Above us the ceiling rose, forming into a gray-colored trapdoor. But it was taller than any of us, and no ladder or stairway gave us access.

"Gimme a leg up." I stated, staring above us.

"Why should _you_ be the first one up?" Fred sounded ever-so-slightly tart.

"Cuz I'm a _girl_," I taunted. Ha, sexism shoved back into their freckly faces.

"She's probably the lightest, Fred." George said. _Thank _you.

"Who says?" The bitterness was becoming more prominent in Fred's voice.

"Are you calling me _fat_?" I shrieked. Was all that candy getting to me?

"That's _not_ what I meant!"

"That's _not_ something you say to a _girl_!"

"Are you even listening to me? I apologized!"

"No you didn't! I'm not _fat_!"

"GUYS!" George bellowed, shoving us away from each other. "We're wasting time!"

I turned on my heel and crossed my arms. "Only when _Fredrick_ apologizes for calling me fat."

"I didn't call you fat! And I see you're pulling the Mum trick!" Fred sounded exasperated, but I resisted the urge to turn around and hex him to Christmas.

"We're not going to have any time-" George began, but Fred cut right across him.

"I'm sorry, all right?" I could see Fred ripping out his hair in my mind's eye. It was a pretty picture.

"That's better. Now give me a leg up." I wagged my foot at Fred. He groaned, and reluctantly laced his hands together and held them out. I pushed a muddy sneaker onto his palms and grabbed his head for support as I swung my leg onto his shoulder.

"Ouch! I get that you're mad, but this is overkill." He grumbled when I 'accidentally' dug my nails into his scalp.

"I still can't reach it…" I groped madly at the thick rope, but it was still a good five inches from my grip.

"I'm going to throw you if you kick me again, Pam! I'm not kidding, this hurts." Fred shifted and I nearly fell off of his shoulders. Okay, kicking him _was_ an accident. I swear.

"Hey, throw me? That's a great idea!" I can be a genius sometimes.

"Stop being sarcastic!" Fred quipped.

"I'm not joking. If I grab the rope, it'll swing down and I can pull myself up." I grinned triumphantly, looking down at them.

"It's worth a shot. But I will laugh if you miss and land on your face." Fred shifted again, and I dropped into an awkward kneeling position.

"George, get under me. If I fall, I'll fall hard." I got into Commando Mode, dishing out my orders.

"Don't fall _on_ me, Pam." George got into position anyway, and I took another steadying breath as my palms began to sweat.

"On the count of three, throw me as hard as you can." I took another breath and then began the countdown. "One…two…three!"

I flew up a good foot, and latched onto the rope with both hands. It was shorter than it seemed at first, with only two inches to spare with my hands stacked on top of each other.

But there was no second swooping feeling of the trapdoor swinging open. It was locked. And I was dangling seven or eight feet above my two friends, thanking my stars I had on pants.

"Uh, guys? Some lock-opening spell, please!" I was shaking again. And don't tell me I'm overreacting- have you ever hung onto some short rope ten feet above a stone floor with no way but down?

"_Alohomora_!" George pointed his wand right above me, and I heard the lock click. But there was still no swinging sensation, no gust of cool air from above.

"I think it opens outward." Fred said, in shock, as he looked up at me.

"No kidding!" I was shaking again. Then, a sound I dreaded to hear: creaking of metal and wood splintering.

"Bloody hell! George, catch me!" I screamed as the trapdoor snapped, shards of wood raining down on us as I plummeted from the ceiling.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" I heard Fred cry. Suddenly a sensation of falling through water came over me; I dropped much more slowly. Drenched in sweat, I landed lightly in the twins' arms.

The second my feet hit the ground I fell forward onto my hands and knees. I was shaking more violently than before.

"Uh, guys? I think people can see there's a gaping hole in the ground!" George said loudly over the howl of wind. The sky was overcast, and I was waiting for someone to slip through the hole and take us to Dumbledore.

"_R-reparo._" I held my wand out and the trapdoor shot back up and mended itself where it used to hang. It wasn't perfect, but now nobody could see us.

"Let's get out of here, the feast must be starting soon." George began walking, and I picked myself up to walk behind him.

"Well _that_ was a total bust." I heard Fred groan behind me.

"Easy for you to say, you didn't practically kill yourself trying to open a _door_!"

X

We were silent the whole way back. When we got to the ledge, though, George was already pushing on the stone wall. And the second I caught up with him I knew something was wrong.

"It's…not...opening…" George puffed as he leaned on the door with all his might.

"Are you serious?" This time though, I was sarcastic.

"Step aside, kid." I said confidently, whipping out my wand again. "Alohomora."

Nothing.

"All right, maybe you were right." I stepped back as both of the twins leaned into the door, but it didn't budge.

Panic set in as I whispered frantically, "Why isn't it opening?"

"They must have put something in front of it." Fred turned to face me, his face red.

"What…oh my God, they've blocked us with a pumpkin." I pushed my way to the door and peered through the infinitesimally small crack. Sure enough, the only thing that met my sight was orange.

"One of those massive pumpkins Hagrid grows every year? We're stuck behind one of _those_?" George looked over at me too, a mixture of worry and amusement on his face.

I couldn't answer, my lungs were about to burst from laughter. I threw my head back and started laughing hysterically.

I'm surprised nobody heard us, because soon the twins were laughing too, and the image of us being stuck _in_ a pumpkin made my face turn red.

But the situation we were in made us stop laughing very soon.

"I guess we just have to wait until after the feast. They remove the decorations after everyone is up in the common rooms, right?" George finally gave up and sat in front of the wall, panting.

"If we have nothing else to do, we might as well whip out the map. You still have it?" I addressed Fred, who reached into his pocket.

"It's not here!" He yelled suddenly, making me jump backwards. George leapt to his feet and growled, "What do you mean, 'it's not here'?!"

"Come to think of it, I didn't feel it walking back here either…" Fred muttered, but panic was rising in him, too.

"We have to find it! What's your problem today? First you call me fat, and then you lose the map? We still don't know how to wipe it clean, anyone could read it! Somebody will turn it in; they'll see us in _here_ and thenwe'll get expelled! Fred, you're acting like an idiot, you know that?" I was past angry, and getting so furious it was confusing.

Fred was turning pink, so I gave George a "Be-mad-at-him-later" look and turned to go find the map.

"Help me, you two." I stepped down the ledge and began down the passage. I'm getting _sick_ of that thing.

X

We scanned every inch of that dank, earthy corridor, but there was absolutely nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. George and I had on our most serious 'I'm past livid!' looks and Fred looked completely flustered. Even worse than the time he crashed my sister's broomstick.

But when we reached the ledge for the millionth time, we were all upset that we were missing the feast and would have to sneak back to Gryffindor Tower at nine at night.

So we were silent and mopey, sitting in a circle before the door, just waiting.

We all heard them- footsteps, getting closer and closer. We all sat up straight and looked at each other. I think the look we had on our faces was the perfect 'Deer-in-the-headlights' expression.

A _whoosh!_ of air, a light thud, and suddenly the stone door began to open, slowly and dramatically.

"Oh God…" I squeaked, hiding my face in my hands. Good-bye lessons, good-bye comfy four-poster, good-bye Hogwarts, good-bye wand-

"You guys _have_ to be kidding."

Staring down at us was none other than Miss Flynn herself. Madison had a smirk and the Marauders' Map clasped in her hand.

Inward victory dance, anyone?

"Thank you Madison, oh my God I thought I'd have to spend all of eternity locked in here behind a pumpkin!" I threw my arms around her neck.

"Did you say pumpkin?" Madison patted my back twice, and then gently shoved me off. "You guy's weren't behind a pumpkin. You weren't behind _anything_." She snickered, and we stepped into the corridor, hearing the satisfying thump of the door behind us.

She was completely right- there was absolutely nothing blocking us.

"What was the orange I saw?" Guess which three out of four where feeling totally stupid then?

"Ever heard of magical reinforcements?" Madison's smirk widened. "Somebody must have known about the passage, so they charmed it because they didn't want kids to be spied on."

"They why couldn't we open it?" George asked.

"Same reason. One-Way Opening Charms. They're on the Fat Lady's portrait. You can also layer a Password Charm over it. You couldn't open the outside of the portrait hole without a password if you tried, but it swings open without a password on the inside. Must've been the other way around with your little hidey-hole." Madison began walking, and we followed.

"Tell me what just happened, because it sounds like one nasty little tale."

X

All the way back to Gryffindor Tower we spilled the whole tale. We left out the "I'm Not Fat" argument and me screaming my face off at Fred for losing the map.

"Oh and speaking of the map, I figured out how to wipe it." Madison handed the Marauder's Map to me in the common room. "It's 'Mischief Managed.'"

"How did you-?" I underestimated this girl big time.

"I have my ways." She just grinned and walked off towards the girl's dormitories, leaving me bewildered behind her.

"Mischief managed," I whispered, and the ink was gone, leaving blank parchment in its wake.

I pushed the map in my pocket and went to go to bed myself. I could feel blisters coming on my hands, and it wasn't going to be pretty.


	8. Four Seconds For FireworksLiterally

Chapter 8: Four Seconds For Fireworks

AN- YES I UPDATED. I haven't had enough free time / motivation to continue, but I love this story so…here. :B

On December 23rd I nearly woke all of Hogwarts when I looked out my window at seven in the morning.

"Snow! Snow! Madison look! Snow! It's pouring snow!" I chattered, dancing away and towards where Madison stood groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"For someone who's scared of _water_ you're sure excited to see it when it's frozen." Madison pulled her curly hair back into a ponytail as she walked towards the window.

"Whoa, that is a _lot_ of snow." She whispered quietly.

And she was right- all of the grounds were coated in a thick layer of snow. I'd have to say it was at least two feet.

"C'mon, let's go play in it!" I slid across the floor to my trunk, hastily lashing shorts and school skirts out of the way to dig up my winter stuff.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. I'm not having a snowball fight, I'll tell you that right now." Madison rolled her eyes, as if throwing powered water was beneath her.

Not even five minutes later we were clad in winter gear and rushing out the front door behind a couple of third years.

It's much harder to run on the grounds when you're feeling as squishy as a marshmallow and dragging your feet in one-size too big winter boots.

To my surprise there were more people than I'd expected out here. All years- first through seventh. I longed for a snowball fight and I was so lost in my snowy white daydreams I didn't notice Madison walk off to talk to some second years.

But you can bet I noticed the snowball that hit me square in the back of the head. Freezing water dripped down my back, somehow penetrating my sweatshirt, winter coat and three shirts. I began to shimmy a bit, and then before I knew it I was "dancing" spastically, snow still dripping down me.

And then I realized who I was friends with when I heard the snickers erupting behind me. Leaning my head back I yelled, "Fred and George, I am going to JINX YOU _BOTH_ TO THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER!"

I guess my shrimpy, sticky frame and uber feminine voice didn't pose much of a threat to them because this made them laugh even harder.

For some reason. I'm fearsome, right? If I roared you'd pee your pants. _Riiight?_

"That's the last straw! ROOOAR!" I growled, scooping up snow in each of my hands and hurling it with all my might at their faces.

I guess my aim isn't all that great because both snowballs whizzed past their ears. Or thighs, because now the dynamic duo was doubled over laughing at me.

I shuffled over to them in Meredith's old boots (I didn't know she had such big feet!) and kicked snow into their faces.

I believe I would have disowned my limbs if I'd missed that shot.

They coughed and sputtered, snow falling out of their open mouths. When Fred and George were upright again, they just blinked rapidly at my triumphant face, partially hidden behind my two Gryffindor scarves.

Soundlessly they whipped out their wands and the next thing I saw was pure white snow being launched by magic into my face.

"What a waste of-" I cut myself off, sneezing twice. Three times. Four times…

"You two got snow up my NOSE!" I hollered, a mixture of shock and whining.

I sneezed for the fifth time and snow dribbled out of my nose.

What, too much information?

"Eww," The twins chimed in, in perfect unison.

"Hey, that gives me an idea!" I grinned widely, wiping my nose on the back of my glove.

"Don't eat the green and white snow?" Fred quipped, obviously meaning all was forgiven.

"No." I shot him a quick look of disapproval and then continued. "You guys have fireworks, or the stuff and knowledge to make some?"

"You have to _ask_?"

X

"Is the dang thing DONE yet?" I sighed impatiently, pacing in circles around the twins and gnawing on Droobles, careful to keep it _in my mouth_ this time.

"Plural: _things_." George reminded me, tweaking something on the bright red-and-gold…_thing_ that lay on the floor before him.

"Almost finished here…" Fred grunted, tugging on a dangling piece of wax and then remembering he has a wand, muttering a spell to sever the piece.

"Ta-da!" George grinned, holding up the finished makeshift firework-bomb.

To be honest, I have absolutely _no_ clue how they pulled this off. I don't know the jist of how to do it, but all I know is that involves some brass rings, twine, magic, candles and part of my scarf.

For the record, I'm still a little teeny bit sad to see the four inches of fabric go.

"Okay guys, this is how it goes. We put one firework each in the socks-" I held up my brother's socks for emphasis- "And then wrap them all nice. We hand the gift off to someone as an early Christmas present…wait, how do you make them go off?"

"It's a simple spell. Micans tela, okay? After we light them, we have exactly fourteen seconds before they explode." Fred answered.

"Change of plans." I began again, the plan coming together in my mind's eye like a Rubiks cube or a jigsaw puzzle. "Two of us hand off the present. The third person says the spell on the signal, and then we do a countdown- build it up like it's something really good. We move away slowly during this, and then watch the fireworks. _Literally._" My lips curled into an excited grin.

"Who's our victim?" George interrupted my reverie of red and gold fireworks showering over the common room.

"Hmm…" I tapped my lips with my index finger, thinking hard. And then my hand fell sharply to my side, because I _really _don't want to turn into my big sister. And I remembered my vow of revenge.

"Madison. Miss Flynn herself." My grin got wider.

And before you ask, I'm not a bad friend. Get back to me when you can put up with learning magic, being slapped awake with about seven hours of sleep AND all of what Fred and George do to me.

X

A simple twenty minutes later we were locked, loaded and ready to go. We decided to plant George behind Madison's chair and go in front of her, so that it'd be much clearer to all of us. Fred and I were to deliver the gift. The gift of chaos and eyefuls of soot and sparkles. I'm so poetic, aren't I?

"Madison!" I exclaimed, mocking surprise as Fred and I walked towards her, the gift held between us.

"You two look like conjoined twins." Madison held a level face, but her left eyebrow went up barley a quarter of an inch.

"We-" I gestured first to myself, and then to Fred, "pitched in and got you a present. Early, we know but…Merry Christmas!" I tapped my chin with my pointer finger three times- the signal.

I heard George barely whisper the spell, and I knew the show was about to go on.

"Now let me just tighten the bow…" I leaned in and pulled on the loops. Fred leaned in too, and whispered urgently: "What are you doing?"

I replied, "So we can just-"

There was a loud crack and before I knew it I had a mouthful of soot, and my own (sort of) fireworks danced above my head.

I ran an index finger on my forehead, and at least two millimeters of gray-black soot was left on my fingertip.

I looked up, spitting the ash out of my mouth. George had a hand clapped over his mouth and his shoulders shook with laughter. Madison was nearly hyperventilating in her armchair, her shrieks of laughter audible for what was probably miles around.

Fred was rooted to the spot, spitting soot into the torn and dilapidated box.

I just groaned. That kind of stuff is too overwhelming for any reaction.

George craned his neck over Madison's armchair as the sparkles finally disappeared above us. His smile widened.

"Well, at least the socks are gone."


End file.
